ŚWIECIE 2016

WYŻSZA SZKOŁA JĘZYKÓW OBCYCH W ŚWIECIU

The Language in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

Monika Grzela-Pryba

MA thesis

supervised by

prof. zw. dr hab. Roman Kalisz

ŚWIECIE 2016

WYŻSZA SZKOŁA JĘZYKÓW OBCYCH W ŚWIECIU

Język w Dumie i uprzedzeniu Jane Austen

Monika Grzela-Pryba

Praca magisterska

napisana pod kierunkiem

prof. zw. dr hab. Romana Kalisza

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OŚWIADCZENIE O ORYGINALNOŚCI PRACY DYPLOMOWEJ I

SAMODZIELNOŚCI W JEJ NAPISANIU ORAZ O NIE

NARUSZENIU PRAW AUTORSKICH

Ja, niżej podpisany/a:

Imię i nazwisko:………………………………………………………………………….

Numer albumu:…………………………………………………………………………

Kierunek studiów:……………………………………………………………………….

Forma studiów:…………………………………………………………………………

Autor pracy dyplomowej pt. .

……………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………......................

oświadczam, że przedstawioną do obrony pracę w całości napisałem samodzielnie i

poza niezbędnymi konsultacjami z promotorem nie zlecałem jej napisania ani nie

odpisywałem żadnej jej części od innych autorów.

Oświadczam też, że praca, której jestem autorem: 1. Nie narusza praw autorskich w

rozumieniu ustawy z dnia 4 lutego 1994 roku o prawie autorskim i prawach

pokrewnych (Dz.U.2006.90.631 ze zmianami) oraz dóbr osobistych chronionych

prawem cywilnym. 2. Nie zawiera danych i informacji, które uzyskałem/łam w sposób

niedozwolony. 3. Jej treść w formie papierowej i elektronicznej jest identyczna.

Przyjmuję do wiadomości, że jeżeli przedstawione oświadczenie okaże się

nieprawdziwe, decyzja o wydaniu mi dyplomu zostanie cofnięta, a fakt uznania

wykształcenia i uzyskanego tytułu (stopnia) uznany zostanie za nieważny.

Świecie, dnia ………..……..

……………………………….. (czytelny podpis)

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Contents

Introduction… ................................................................................................................ 5

1. Vocabulary in Pride and Prejudice .............................................................................. 8

2. Grammar and sentence structure in Jane Austen’s novel. .......................................... 21

2.1. Structure of sentences. ............................................................................................. 21

2.2. Omission of prepositions, use of adjectives as adverbs, use of the subjunctive and

conjunction ......................................................................................................................22

3. Use of irony in the novel .............................................................................................24

3.1. Irony as a whole ...................................................................................................... 24

3.2. Irony of characters and situation ............................................................................. 25

4. Symbolism in Pride and Prejudice ............................................................................ 31

5. Jane Austen’s narrative techniques. ........................................................................... 33

5.1. Use of limitation of description and exclamation of some words… ....................... 33

5.2. Use of allusion ......................................................................................................... 35

5.3. Language of the main characters ............................................................................. 36

5.4. Jane Austen’s style in the novel. ............................................................................. 41

Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 49

Summary in Polish ........................................................................................................ 51

Bibliography… .............................................................................................................. 53

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Introduction

Jane Austen’s language and the model of writing that is used nowadays vary in many

respects. The vocabulary, grammar, use of sophisticated techniques or the style itself are

presented in a completely different way in comparison to present-day English.

Nonetheless, why is Jane Austen’s English so important and why did the author of this

dissertation decide to present a study of the topic? The answer is evident and obviously

connected with the uniqueness of Jane Austen’s style that has attracted a great number

of readers throughout the world. Therefore, the language and techniques presented in

Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice are discussed in-depth in every chapter of this

master’s thesis.

It is commonly believed that Jane Austen’s style should be respected and is not only

unique and sophisticated but also one more aspect that should be taken into

consideration. Namely, Jane Austen wrote in a tone that could not be easily understood

by everyone. Furthermore, a common understanding of particular words or expressions

could not be sufficient in order to understand the message that was hidden in each

sentence or passage. Therefore, this dissertation is not only one filled with definitions

but a kind of guide as how to read and understand Jane Austen’s mind correctly.

This MA thesis consists of five main parts in which the author wanted to present not

only the previously mentioned issues but also to explain why so much time was spent

focusing on the language and on a novel that exists in a world in which fewer and fewer

people are reaching for the book in order to satisfy their mental needs.

The first chapter of this dissertation is wholly devoted to the vocabulary demonstrated in

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and to the importance of each word or phrase in the

novel. A particular word is presented as it was used in the novel and then a further

discussion is added in order to emphasize the impact of every word, not only on each

character but also on the novel as a whole. The vocabulary described in this paper was

selected on the basis of importance, and the discussion is supported by the work of two

great critics of Jane Austen’s composition, namely Phillipps and Stokes (1970,1991),

who had a great impact on the pattern of this thesis. What is more, the words and

expressions are not only listed and their roles in the novel presented but the writer also

provides the reader with additional definitions for each word which is described and

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explained. Therefore, the reader can easily not only notice the difference but also

compare the usage of a particular word in our times and a few decades earlier.

Subsequently, after the previously mentioned explanations are presented, the next step

required an appropriate commentary. Secondly, grammar and sentence structure are

discussed in the next chapter. Then the grammar is discussed for its difficulty and

laboriousness in the learning process. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to persuade not

only students but also other human beings to read about the issue, especially grammar in

past times. Apart from learning for an examination, no student would reach for a

grammar course without being forced to do so. Therefore, certainly many individuals

would still avoid reading about grammar and the aspects connected with it, especially

when a passage is about grammar used in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

However, once interested in the subject the reader will become interested in grammar as

well because the grammar is discussed in the same manner in which the vocabulary is in

the first chapter. Thus, except for only discussing the usage of all tenses, prepositions

and other grammatical structures, proper and in-depth studies were undertaken on their

role in the novel and, what is most important, a proper understanding of them in each

sentence is discussed.

The third part of this paper is concerned with the issue of irony. This is the part of the

dissertation that is the most interesting and beneficial for those who want to understand

Jane Austen’s humour and wit. What should not be surprising commences the first

sentence of the novel. Namely “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man

in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” (Austen, 2003:9). For those

who are deeply interested in the history and position of the man and woman in the

eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the passage opening the first chapter of the novel

would be strongly incorrect in reference to the social rules in Austen’s times. Namely

the situation was rather on the contrary, as women deprived of any rights and financial

assurance found marriage to be the most desirable method to provide themselves with

shelter and happiness on the grounds of satisfying their basic needs. Men, however, as

the owners of estates and those who had land rights were not truly “in want of a wife”. It

was their free choice in finding a future wife and happiness. By presenting the contrary

situation the author of the novel reached the peak and perfection of her style. These

seemingly non-extraordinary words commenced a great discussion under the topic of

the conventions that ruled in her times. Later in this chapter the i rony

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of character and situation and its impact on the whole novel are discussed. In the further

reading the reader will discover that the whole book should be understood as a great

irony and the reasons why it should be comprehended in this manner.

What is more, the fourth and fifth chapters first deal with symbolism, both of the

language and of the characters who use this language in the dialogues. Later a

discussion is presented regarding Jane Austen’s techniques and style. The techniques of

omission, addition or limitation are strongly dealt with here, especially as showed in the

dialogues or descriptions. All in all, all of the previously mentioned aspects are signs of

a great masterpiece written by an undisputed novelist of all times.

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1. Vocabulary in Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen’s language is very distinct, and a deeper consideration is required due to

many differences between the English language in Jane Austen’s novels and the English

language that is used nowadays. Paying importance to vocabulary is not only important

due to these differences but also because suitable knowledge in this field is important

for a proper understanding of the author’s novels. One of the most valuable and

beneficial critical essays regarding Austen’s language can be found in Phillipps’ book

titled Jane Austen’s English. Therefore, most of my references use his work as a source.

One of the most popular words worth deeper consideration that appears in Jane Austen’s

novel Pride and Prejudice is respectable. According to Oxford Dictionaries (online), it

is understood as “regarded by society to be good, proper, or correct”. In Jane Austen’s

novels this word is used to present the good sides of a character’s behaviour or

undertakings; for instance, one of the characters, Mr. Collins, is mostly presented as a

comical and burlesque man who is desperately searching for a wife among Mr. Bennet’s

daughters. Therefore, Mr. Collins should not be perceived as a man who deserves

respect. However, Phillipps (1970), in the words describing Mr’s Collins’ devotion to

gardening, found that he could also be seen as a respectable man in some particular

sense: “To work in his garden was one of his (Mr Collins’) most respectable pleasures”.

The author noticed that a priest is not only presented as character readers could laugh

about but also might be seen as a man who has some respectable hobby that makes him

a man who is more desirable in society.

Another interesting term that is used by Jane Austen is the word idea. Nowadays, idea is

commonly understood as a thought that will have its results in the future

(oxforddictionaries, online). In Jane Austen’s world the word idea has a completely

different meaning. It rather refers to feelings, not to future plans. In the critical work

Jane Austen’s English, Phillipps (1970) evokes one of the sentences from Pride and

Prejudice in which he presents the differences between perceiving the word idea in Jane

Austen’s times and in our times. After visiting Mr. Darcy’s estate and the maid’s

description of the owner, Mrs Gardiner presents her opinion about Mr. Darcy’s

property. “There is something of dignity in his countenance, that would not give one an

unfavourable idea of his heart”. Therefore, the word idea here should be understood as a

personal feeling or beliefs. Moreover, Phillipps (1970) suggested that the word idea also

referred to “topics of conversations” or a “mental image or picture of something

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previously seen or known”. A great example of this use could be seen in the words “She

had merely intended to discompose Elizabeth, by bringing forward the idea of a man to

whom she believed her partial”. Therefore, the word idea takes on a different meaning

once again. Here it should be understood as the portrait of a person that is kept in the

speaker’s mind.

The third word which is worth deeper consideration and is commonly used in the novel

is development. Jane Austen (2003:161) writes “When to these recollections was added

the development of Wickham’s character”. The word development suggests some

changes in Wickham’s character, however, he does not change his behaviour and, what

is worse, his misdeeds are as cruel as they were before. Wickham harmed Darcy’s sister

Georgiana in the past, and in the present he has evil intentions towards Miss Lidia.

Namely, his character does not change as the novel continues, and there are no signs

symptoms of repentance, but he is also not aware that he is behaving badly. Therefore,

these developments should be recognized as a “gradual unfolding and disclosing of

what had hitherto been unknown about his character” (Phillipps, 1970). Jane Austen

also uses the word development in a different context in which she pays attention to the

mind’s limitations or even mental deficiency. When the author writes about Mr.

Bennet’s wife perceiving something, she writes of Mrs Bennet that “The experience of

three and twenty years had been insufficient to his wife to understand his character. Her

mind was less difficult to develop” (Austen 2003:10). In some sense, by using the word

development in this situation she laughed at Mrs Bennet and at her weaknesses in

understanding and perceiving the word. Such a long period of marriage was not enough

for her to become acquainted with her own husband.

Another interesting example of Jane Austen’s words could be noticeable in the term

character. At present the word character refers to “the mental and moral

qualities distinctive to an individual”. In other words, these are all of the personal

features that describe one’s mind and one’s attitude towards life and other people.

Thanks to them we can easily decide whether a person is playing a good or a bad role in

the novel. In Jane Austen’s world the character should be known as society, people’s

opinions or reactions (Phillipps, 1970).

Subsequently, the word determine is worth deeper consideration. According to

oxforddictionaries (online), determine means to “cause (something) to occur in a

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particular way or to have a particular nature”. In other words, the word or phrase

provides a particular definition or description for a thing or person. In Jane Austen’s

novel the word determine appears in the following sentence “(A headache) grew so

much worse…that…it determined her not to attend her cousins at Rosings” (Austen

2003:144). What is more, Phillipps (1970: 48) noticed that “the verb determine was

used with an impersonal subject and a personal object”, which does not take place in

English nowadays. Namely, it is not a normal situation when the state of health decides

about an action. Normally, a human being takes a decision to undertake some steps.

Thus, Jane Austen, by using the verbs in a completely different way than in present

English, once again creates her own unique writing style which somehow might be

difficult to understand or react to. However, this undoubtedly makes her a writer of all

times.

Consequently, the next word to which the reader should pay attention is usage of the

word trials. The author writes “After many pauses and trials of other subjects, Elizabeth

could not help reverting once more to the first” (Austen 2003:68). Now the word trials

refers to doubts, not to tournaments. This passage is placed in the novel where Mrs

Elizabeth Bennet asks Mr Wickham many questions about Mr Darcy and his close

family and companions. Mrs Elizabeth’s mind is full of doubts and issues to solve, not

trials. Phillipps (1970:50) commented on using the word trials as “restoring or

refurbishing” old uses of English words. Thanks to this the utterance is more complex

and strengthens the importance of the situation.

The word mind is also of higher importance when talking about Jane Austen’s English.

In Pride and Prejudice there was a passage about Mrs Bennet’s “weak understanding

and illiberal mind”. However, mind does not mean the inside part of the head in the

sense of medicine but the state of mind (Phillipps, 1970: 61). Mrs Bennet’s mind was

too limited to perceive the world from a wider perspective. She thinks as a child. Mrs

Bennet sees the situation as it is in a particular moment and does not consider deduction

of the situation. In other words, her mind has some limitations which are difficult to

overcome.

The next word that is used by Jane Austen differently than people might expect is the

word speak. The author wrote in the novel “She had never...seen...anything that spoke

him of irreligious or immoral habits” (Austen, 2003:157). That “thing” does not speak

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literally but means that it suggests or indicates something (Phillipps, 1970: 64). The use

of the word speak is quite striking because normally people undertake the act of speech,

not of thoughts. Therefore, once again a word that ordinary people associate with a

conversation is used in an entirely different sense.

What is more, in some parts of the novel readers can easily find the words pretty or

beauty that refer to a male representative rather than to women. Jane Austen (2003: 60)

wrote in her novel about Mr. Wickham “he had all the best part of beauty”. This

combination of the word could also be shocking because normally the words ‘beautiful’,

‘beauty’ and ‘pretty’ refer to a female representative. Normally, the adjective

‘handsome’ is used in descriptions of men. However, Phillipps (1970:81) suggested that

the words previously mentioned describe men only if some conditions are fulfilled.

Namely, the man ought to be extremely handsome.

Moreover, there are also some odd uses of words in Jane Austen’s novel; for instance,

Phillipps (1970:86) claims that the word intelligence does not have anything in common

with the most popular definition of this word. Nowadays intelligence refers to the

“ability of acquiring knowledge and skills” (oxforddictionaries, online). What is more,

this term should be understood as “information or news”. In the novel we can find that

“It was yet in his power to give her fresher intelligence of her former friend” (Austen,

2003:113). Of course, it is impossible to provide someone with intelligence, therefore

the word should be seen differently. The word intelligence ought to be transformed into

information or news in order to understand the writer’s message.

In addition, use of the word partial is also quite interesting. In present-day English,

partial means “having a liking for” (oxforddictionaries, online). However, Phillipps

(1970) suggests that the word must have a different meaning in order to talk about the

characters’ relationships. The author claims that it could refer to the opposite definition

of the one presented above and should be understood as having no interest in someone.

One of the most prominent elements of Jane Austen’s style is the form of saying

surnames only after the word Miss. What is more, Austen feels free in writing short

forms of names, e.g. ‘Lizzy’ or ‘Eliza’ for ‘Elizabeth Bennet’. Another interesting

discovery is observed in the field of addressing men. Some of the supporting characters

address men by using only their surname. Quite shocking to the reader could be the

model of conversation between Mrs. and Mr. Bennet. However, their marriage has

lasted

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a couple of years and they still use ‘Mr’ and ‘Mrs’ while talking to each other. The

conversation between parents and offspring also differs from present usage. ‘Sir’ is

often used while addressing the father, and ‘madam’ or ‘ma’am’ is used with reference

to mothers. Nowadays, children often demonstrate their affection and devotion by using

less formal forms than the children presented in Jane Austen’s novels did. Most young

children apply the word ‘mummy’ while addressing their mother and ‘daddy’ when

addressing their father. A very similar attitude could be observed in the parents

addressing their children (Phillipps, 1970: 212-215). Namely, Mrs Bennet says to

Elizabeth “I tell you what, Miss Lizzy, ... you will never get a husband”. Mrs Bennet

does not say my daughter or my Lizzy, she is as formal as her daughter in addressing her

offspring. As a reader, one could be surprised when it comes to the attitudes of the

characters when addressing each other, however, the difference in canons between the

present and past is high. In other words, different behaviours and reactions were

expected by society in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. A more formal style was

observed in comparison to the model of addressing both children and parents. It was

determined not only by the rules and conventions but also to present a tone of

seriousness.

Subsequently, the approach to time is also interesting in Jane Austen’s novels. Namely,

the exact time of the episodes is not stated. What is more interesting, the writer often

does not mention the time of the day, i.e. afternoon. From the author’s perspective,

morning and evening existed at that time. In other words, everything that is important

takes place early in the morning and relatively late in the evening. However, the

morning should be understood as the time counting from waking up until having a late

dinner at about 4 o’clock. Morning was a time when the most important things

happened. In most cases it was a time for visiting neighbours, which were of high

importance in social relations. In addition, consumption as a whole is also interesting to

talk about. Taking into consideration that visiting was an important part of good social

relations, an invitation to a dinner had to be evident. Inviting somebody in the evenings

was only an invitation for tea or coffee, not for dinner, as dinner took place in the

morning (Stokes, 1991).

The approach to describing places is also unique. With reference to Stokes (1991:10-

11), the division of town and country (meaning rural area) was not noticeable. Rather

London was understood as a city and the country as a province. Moreover, the former

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was praised for its charm and many perspectives. Also, life was “London-oriented”. In

other words, people were divided into those who lived in London and those who did

not. However, in the novel readers can easily notice that there are many opponents of

living in the city. One of the most prominent ones is Mr Bennet, who is even disgusted

when having to leave the country for a while. In Jane Austen’s novel we cannot find any

interest in having two houses: one in the city and one in a rural area. Perhaps because

this is not what Austen wanted to share with the reader. People’s relations and situation

were more important than the ambition of having two places to live in. On the other

hand, in Mrs Bennet’s words readers can easily notice that the house in town is more

important to those who cannot afford to keep one. After hearing about Lizzy being

engaged to Mr Darcy, Mrs Bennet says to Elizabeth “Dear, dear Lizzy. A house in

town! Everything that is charming” (Austen, 2003: 273). The exclamation mark used

after the words house in town indicates Mrs Bennet’s astonishment and happiness. She

is aware that her daughter’s being engaged to a wealthy man with two houses, both in

the city and in the province, is almost a miracle. Therefore, Lizzy’s mother is deeply

moved by this piece of information. However, taking into consideration Darcy’s point

of view on this matter and reaction when Sir Williams asks him about a house in town

indicates that the former does not pay much attention to having it. Sir William asked:

“You have a house in town. I conclude?”, And Mr Darcy’s nodding was the only

reaction to it. In other words, the fact of possessing a house was so evident that he did

not pay much attention to it. Yet in some sense the reader could perceive this reaction as

Mr Darcy’s rudeness or presumption (Stokes, 1991).

The next interesting element which is noticeable in Jane Austen’s novels is the manner

of speaking, understood as the way the characters address each other or what particular

words they use, i.e. while talking about the canon of what is acceptable by society and

what ought not to be taken into consideration. Moreover, what could be perceived as

shocking by the reader is also interesting. With reference to Stokes (1991: 16-17),

“exclamation of the Lord” is quite interesting. These characters, mostly the main ones,

are not in favour of using the word Lord even when in anger. More often “Good

Heavens” is used, or in stressful situations the word “God” is employed. A character

who overuses the word ‘Lord’ is Mrs Bennet, which might be seen as highly

inappropriate. However, those characters who are more careful in overusing this

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expression are perceived as more “rational and restrained”, which means that even in

stressful or unpleasant situations they are regarded as being politically correct.

While talking about the language of Jane Austen we should consider the way the author

describes the behaviour of the heroes and heroines. In Jane Austen’s times, manners

indicated a person’s character. According to oxforddictionaries (online), manners are

understood as polite or well-bred social behaviours. In other words, manners are

comprehended as behaviours respected and approved by the society people live in. The

first hero’s character, as mentioned by Stokes (1991:37), is Mr Darcy. At the beginning

of the novel Mr Darcy is presented by the author in a very bad light as an “ill-tempered

man” (Austen 2003). However, as new events take place Mr Darcy’s presence changes

dramatically. But it should be added that he does not change his character but rather

reveals his true face. Throughout the novel we learn that he is a very fine man and his

alienation was determined by his upbringing. Mr Darcy’s behaviour is often compared

to that of Mr Wickham or Mr Bingley. However, Mr Wickham’s character is presented

in a different order. First, his manners are highly approved of by society and he has

earned great respect. However, throughout the novel he shows his true colours and his

being perceived by the communities changes considerably. Mr Bingley, however, is

presented as a “sweet, tempered, amiable, charming man” (Austen 2003:18), so he is

warmly welcomed by the whole Bennet family, especially its female part. Throughout

the story, upon Mr Darcy’s suggestion he leaves Meryton. After his departure a black

shadow is put on him and his behaviour. Not only was Miss Jane Bennet deeply moved

by his decision, as also Mrs Bennet was in shock when the news came to her. Since that

moment her attitude towards him changed very much. Finally, Mr Bingley changes his

mind and proposes to Miss Jane Bennet, and once again everything ends positively.

However, all of these heroines as presented above do not change their character, they

behave as they normally do. A change of character is not observed, only their responses

to the events. Mr Wickham was always bad and always meant mischief. Mr Darcy was

always proud with a deeply hidden good heart. And, finally, Mr Bingley was also a

positive, young man with sweetness in his eyes. However, their reactions are different,

sometimes they do not only mislead the characters but also bring upon them many

problems in properly understanding their intentions. This is a very good technique that

Jane Austen used, as up to the final scene we do not know whether all of the events will

end positively and whether Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley will live long, happy lives with

15

their intended wives or whether Mr Wickham will get what he deserved. Jane Austen

has a great tendency to divide her characters. Even the heroines are presented in

opposition to one another. Miss Elizabeth Bennet is described as a reasonable woman,

whereas Miss Jane Bennet is rather romantic and innocent. Therefore, the former was

sentenced to a man of a clear mind, meaning Mr Darcy, and the latter to the good and

sweet Mr Bingley. Stokes (1991) claims that the difference between the girls is evident

when it comes to perceiving Mr Bingley’s sister. Miss Elizabeth’s attitude is less

tolerant than Jane’s. The latter perceives the world and people as always being good,

whereas Miss Elizabeth is more critical. Namely, readers can easily notice that Austen

is a master of presenting opposites in different characters. Use of this technique is a

very intelligent move. Namely, readers can enjoy a variety of different characters while

reading.

On the other hand, manners do not only refer to people’s behaviour, and sometimes use

of this word divides people into two categories. The first group consists of people who

are worth knowing and the second group consists of people one should avoid. During

the conversation between Miss Elizabeth Bennet and her sister Miss Jane Bennet, the

word manners appears when they start talking about Mr Bingley’s sister. The former

compares Mr Bingley to Caroline to present the huge difference between their ability to

be liked by others. Mr Bingley was a man who people liked at first glance, but people’s

attitudes towards his sister were completely different. However, this does not mean that

she was not grown up in a good manner or that she behaved in a way that was highly

inappropriate. Thus, there is something in her way of being which is very difficult to

like.

The next element in Jane Austen’s language which demands deeper consideration is use

of the word spirit. Spirit in the novels should be understood as being in a good mood

and, what is more important, being in a good mental condition. In other words, being in

good spirits means being happy because a person’s good condition is determined by

happiness. The next word which Stokes (1991) pays attention to is liveliness. The

character who shows the most signs of this is Miss Elizabeth Bennet. The author also

claims that this liveliness is especially noticeable in her manner of speaking. Her

ripostes, tone of voice and the way she leads the conversation are provocative in some

way and presented in a manner that is liked by others. In other words, a conversation

with her is a very enjoyable activity and it brings about feelings of contentment.

16

Moreover, she possesses the ability to change almost everything into a joke or at least

changes a hopeless situation into a less serious one. Jane Austen (2003:15) described

Elizabeth in the following words: “(she has a) lively, playful disposition which

delighted in anything ridiculous”. Later, however, Stokes (1991) noticed that her speech

is also loaded with amusement, and this amusement is determined by Elizabeth’s own

observations and her comments about them. A very amusing passage can be found

when Miss Elizabeth compares Mr Collins with the other men who live in the two

nearest towns. However, her comment is not only amusing but also draws the definition

of the next interesting word used by Jane Austen (2003) in Pride and Prejudice.

Namely, the word stupid is taken into consideration. Miss Elizabeth says:

I have a very poor opinion of young men who live in Derbyshire; and their intimate

friends who live in Hertfordshire are not much better. I am sick of them all. Thank

Heaven! I am going tomorrow where I shall find a man who has no one agreeable

quality, who has neither manner nor sense to recommend him. Stupid men are the

only ones worth knowing, after all. (Austen 2003:121)

As can be noticed, Elizabeth not only laughs at Mr Collins but also her hidden aim is to

mock the whole situation. However, she does not call him ‘stupid’ openly. She has a

tendency to generalise when it comes to comments about Mr Collins and his character.

Moreover, she reverses the common attitude towards meeting new people. It is

generally believed that people with an intelligent, wise and good disposition are worth

knowing. In Miss Elizabeth’s words we can find a completely different opinion.

Nevertheless, in these words the reader cannot find even one grain of truth. By using

these reverse words Austen shows not only sarcasm but also her skill in amusing others,

even without saying anything amusing. The reader knows that Miss Elizabeth’s opinion

of Mr Collins is completely reverse, therefore it ought to be understood as hidden

laughing at him. She also uses the previously mentioned Thank Heavens, which

normally people say when they want to thank someone for something or they feel relief

after a difficult situation. In this situation the words are used in an ironical way. In fact,

she is not happy about the fact of seeing Mr Collins once again. She says this to change

the unwanted meeting into something to laugh at. Stupidity or a lack of manners is one

of the most often met behaviours that Jane Austen laughs at and very often presents as

accompanied by irony. A very similar situation occurs when Mr. Gardiner suggests

visiting Pemberley (Mr Darcy’s property). Elizabeth is not in want of doing it, therefore

the writer comments that “after going over so many (houses), she really had no pleasure

17

in fine carpets or satin curtains”. However, this glum answer irritated Mr Gardiner and

explained that he was not in want of visiting furniture but admiring one of the most

famous gardens in the area. Jane Austen (2003:181) wrote that “Mr. Gardiner abused

her stupidity”. The readers know perfectly well that Miss Elizabeth is not stupid at all.

But her excuse seems quite unreasonable to Mr Gardiner. To be honest, the opportunity

of visiting Pemberley was a great loss to every member of the trip. In the event of using

the word stupidity in this context we have to understand the character’s escaping from

events in which he or she does not want to take part in. In other words, it could be

understood as an excuse. One more example of employing the word stupidity is used by

Mr Bingley to encourage Mr Darcy to be more active at the ball at Meryton. “I hate to

see you standing about by yourself in this stupid manner. You had much better dance”

(Austen, 2003). It is obvious that people cannot stand in a stupid manner and Mr Darcy

is too serious a man to allow people to make fun of him. Consequently, he would not

give people reasons to laugh at him. However, the rules of social behaviour are

determined by society. Therefore, avoiding talking or standing idly in the corner at a

ball was considered highly inappropriate. Once again, the characters’ behaviour was

commented on by Jane Austen as a great stupidity.

Besides that, the words gentleman and gentlewoman could also be misleading.

Generally speaking, in present-day English the first word refers to a man whose

behaviour is unique in comparison to other men. It is understood as unique and is

comprehended in the same way, with the one difference being that it refers to a woman.

In Jane Austen’s society, the previously mentioned words related to the social status of

a person. The words appear in the novel very often. One of the most popular situations

is when Lady Catherine de Bourgh tries to dissuade Elizabeth’s supposed ambitions to

become Mr Darcy’s wife. The Lady calls Mr Darcy a gentleman and humiliates

Elizabeth by saying that she is not a good woman and would not be a good wife for him.

Miss Elizabeth lively responds with the words “I am a gentleman’s daughter”.

However, the former when saying ‘gentleman’ refers to the rank and social position in

society, whereas the latter uses the word ‘gentleman’ as the present-day meaning of the

word. Therefore, Mr Bennet is a man who knows how to behave in every situation.

Therefore, he can be called a gentleman. Once again, Jane Austen presents her genius.

The presentation of two completely different approaches to one word creates a great

dialogue between the two female characters of Pride and Prejudice.

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Not only does the word ‘gentleman’ arouse many topics for discussion, but also the

word gentle and gentleness that is used more often. According to oxforddictionaries

(online), gentleness is “softness of action or effect”. But, not surprisingly, Jane Austen

avoids using the general meaning of this word and leads to a deeper reference. For

Austen, gentleness is a way of saying or acting in which the hero or heroine behaves

tenderly in order to avoid harming others. Usage of this word is noticeable in Mr

Darcy’s behaviour towards Elizabeth in his estate at Pemberley. He asks questions and

considerably changes the way in comparison to the words and tone during his first

proposal of marriage. Moreover, there is no grain of self-interest in his behaviour. He

just wants to please his future wife and, what is more important, his behaviour is not

only pleasant but also innocent. It is an exclamation of pure kindness.

Another interesting word which deserves deeper insight is insolence. With reference to

oxforddictionaries (online), insolence is understood as “rude and disrespectful

behaviour”. To put it another way, insolence is behaviour which is not considered

respectable by the members of a particular community. One of the signs of insolence is

seen by Elizabeth in Mr Darcy’s letter of explanation. She believes that her strong-

minded rejection was unthinkable in Mr Darcy’s eyes and she accuses him and his

behaviour and style of writing as strongly arrogant and rude. Fortunately, later in the

novel the reader and Miss Elizabeth get to know the truth and change their opinion

about him and his reasons for writing the letter the way he did. However, Mr Darcy is

quite a complicated character in the novel. He is among those who pay great attention

when it comes to family connections and status rank. The letter of explanation was

written not only to explain his behaviour but also to clear his good name (Stokes, 1991).

Very interesting usage of the words odd, strange, singular and particular is observed in

Jane Austen’s novels. With reference to Stokes (1991), these words apply to behaviour

or a situation that is excluded from being accepted by society or expressing surprise.

During the supper at Lady Catherine de Bourg’s estate, surprise is expressed by the

Lady when Miss Elizabeth informs that all of her sisters are in society, which means

that they can attend balls and different social meetings. Normally, one or two older

sisters were introduced to society. Lady Catherine exclaims: “What, all five out at once?

Very odd” (Austen, 2003:128) when she hears that all of Elizabeth’s sisters are in want

of finding a husband. She cannot stop showing her surprise. What is more, she uses the

word odd to comment the situation.

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The word abilities is also used very regularly in the novel. With reference to

oxforddictionaries (online), abilities are understood as a “talent, skill, or proficiency in a

particular area”. That is to say, perfection in a given discipline or doing something

better than other people. The first character who refers to the word ability is Miss

Elizabeth Bennet. However, Austen criticises the word in some way. Miss Elizabeth is

too confident about her ability of distinguishing people who are worth deeper

consideration and those who do not deserve any. What is more, she cannot believe that

she misjudged Mr Darcy and so easily believed Mr Wickham. Miss Elizabeth says “I

who have valued myself on my abilities” (Austen, 2003:157). She was too certain and

strongly believed that her abilities of knowing people were taken as a fact. Moreover,

among the characters who blindly believed her conviction is Mr Bennet, who in

choosing a wife also made a mistake which sadly lasted his entire life. Through this

mistake made in his youth he was sentenced to living with a wife who was not half as

intelligent as he. Moreover, the way she spoke was not only a blot on his reputation but

also made him angry on every occasion.. Elizabeth’s father had also overestimated his

abilities in understanding people’s intentions. All in all, Jane Austen somehow criticises

some of her characters as being too confident and in their infallibility in judging other

character’s true colours (Stokes, 1991).

Almost all of Jane Austen’s novels touch upon the moral perspectives of life, i.e. that

which is not accepted by society is very much commented on and rejected. While

writing about the marriages, Austen also writes not only about romantic lovers who are

in want of marriage but also about the rest who choose marriage by taking into

consideration material matters. What is more, in this situation Austen uses the word

prudent, which should be understood as a way of acting without listening to one’s heart,

but simply thinking only about the material benefits (Stokes, 1991). However, Austen

does not criticise characters who act this way. By presenting the character of Charlotte

Lucas, who marries Mr Collins by using common sense, the author wants to show that

in some situations ladies did not have any other options. The only way of providing

themselves with some basic standard of life was marrying a wealthy man. Thus the

reader should not judge her, as a woman’s situation was much more complicated than

now. Nowadays, women can have a professional career, but in Austen’s times women

did not have many options. Staying at home was also strongly undesirable due to being

a burden to the family. What is more interesting, Stokes (1991) suggests that the word

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prudent is often compared to the word romantic. Charlotte Lucas says to Elizabeth “I

am not romantic you know” (Austen, 2003:98). Therefore, if she says that she is not

romantic, she is a sensible or reasonable woman.

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2. Grammar in Pride and Prejudice

2.1. Sentence structure

The next interesting element of Jane Austen’s language in order to understand the novel

is sentence structure. In one of the sentences from Pride and Prejudice “It was plain

that he was that moment arrived” (Austen, 20003:190). Jane Austen supports here some

of her verbs, especially verbs of motion, with present and past forms of the verb ‘to be’.

By using this technique the text is more vivid and is much easier to read.

The next interesting aspect that is worth deeper insight is the verb do. However, the verb

do often occurs with away. One of the examples is “All Elizabeth’s anger against him

(Mr Darcy) had been done away” (Austen, 2003:196). In this situation done away

means that the anger vanished. Austen also sometimes looks back to past expressions

and uses know; for instance: “What he means to do, I am sure I know not” (Austen,

2003:205).

Consequently, usage of must have in the novel is another interesting element to discuss.

With reference to Phillipps (1970:124), must have should be understood as may have.

What is more, usage of must have considers the possibility of the occurrence of past

events with the use of a present form of must have. Jane Bennet in a letter to her sister

Elizabeth Bennet uses these expressions. The former explains that she should meet Mr

Bingley because he knows about her visiting London. “If he had at all cared about me,

we must have met long, long ago” (Austen, 2003: 117).

Further investigation is needed when talking about usage of the gerund by Jane Austen.

The author sometimes, especially when talking about sports disciplines or issues

connected with that field, uses the article ‘a’ before the gerund. In the novel we can

observe “I had no notion but he would go a shooting or something or other” (Austen,

2003:277). The gerund in Pride and Prejudice is also used in the plural. Elizabeth

Bennet says: “It must be my uncle’s doings” (Austen, 2003: 225) when she wants to

emphasise her uncle’s bounty and help in saving Lydia from being endlessly ostracised

from society and in disgrace.

Additionally, one of the typical features of Jane Austen’s writing style is usage of is:

“No officer is ever to enter my house again” (Austen, 2003: 222) says Mr Bennet while

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the horror of Lydia’s behaviour streams on the Bennets’ house. According to Phillipps

(1970:137), use of is is determined by “the will of man”. In other words, a man’s fury

settles the decision.

2.2. Omission of prepositions, use of adjectives as adverbs, use of the

subjunctive and conjunction

Sometimes, Jane Austen uses a technique called omission in her novels. With reference

to oxforddictionaries (online), omission is “an action of excluding or leaving out

someone or something”. In other words, this is a technique used by authors to remove

some words of the text in order to achieve a particular goal. The most common

omission which appears in novels is omission of the preposition: “He scarcely needed

the invitation to stay supper” (Austen, 2003:254). In present-day English, people

normally would say “to stay for supper” instead of “to stay supper”. Another interesting

example is “I am not romantic... I ask only a comfortable home”. Normally we would

say “for” between “only” and “a comfortable home”. Phillipps (1970) claims that this

technique should focus on deleting the preposition from sentences with a transitive verb.

What is more, the technique of omission is also used when changing transitive verbs

into intransitive ones by omitting the object; for instance, “She made the most of the

time by visiting with her daughter” (Austen 2003: 235). And there is no information

added about the name of the place being visited. Furthermore, sometimes the omission

is not clear, so the listener has to guess the hidden information, as in the following

example: “Let the other young ladies have time to exhibit” (Austen, 2003: 81).

However, there is no information provided as to what they could show or perform. Only

the situation outlines the hidden words. The obvious thing is that by saying these words

Mr Bennet meant the talents which the other girls could present during the ball.

Later, Jane Austen becomes a master of using the subjunctive in her novels. One of the

most common is the past form were. Namely, the author writes: “She actually persists in

rejecting my suit, perhaps it were better not to force her” (Austen, 2003). Normally, two

separate sentences could be written from the presented long sentence. However, this

would not bring about as many positive influences on the text itself.

Additionally, Jane Austen (2003) sometimes uses adjectives as adverbs. “She must feel

that she has been acting wrong” Jane Bennet says about Caroline Bingley. The adjective

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‘wrong’ should be understood as an activity of doing something in a very bad way.

What is more, the supporting characters also use adjectives in a particular way. Most of

them use such expressions as monstrous pretty or horrid unpleasant, which have a very

vulgar tone and present the person in a very negative light (Phillipps, 1970).

Information about the location of places or people in Jane Austen’s novel is also

provided with great precision. The author uses adverbs to provide the reader with exact

information about the place (Phillipps, 1970: 184). The most accurate example of this

was showed in the following sentence: “The room in which the ladies sat was

backwards”. By using the adverb backwards the reader assumes that Charlotte Lucas

and Elizabeth Bennet are in the back part of the house.

What is more, Jane Austen uses the adverb phrase for ever in a quite interesting manner.

For ever in most cases is understood as an event which happens all the time, it does not

refer to events which last an eternity. However, Jane Austen rather uses ‘for ever’ in the

latter sense and writes “And while Meryton was within a walk of Longbourn, they

would be going there for ever” (Austen, 2003: 161). This means that the journey would

be very long and tiring.

Usage of prepositions in Jane Austen’s novel is also quite fascinating, and most often

this usage of prepositions differs much from its use nowadays. The first that deserves

deeper insight is usage of the preposition at which very often precedes the names of

towns or other places. “We shall be at Newcastle all the winter” (Austen, 2003: 234).

Austen often replaces on into in while writing. “Something that he told me in our

journey hither” (Austen, 2003:143). Slightly odd is usage of the preposition of. Austen

(2003: 258) wrote “It is nothing to comparison of Rosings” . In present-day English we

say: “There is nothing to compare to something”.

What is more, in present-day English we can easily notice the occurrence of the

conjunction in noun sentences. The poet rather wants to omit the conjunction and does

not use the that conjunction in sentences; for instance, in the following sentence readers

can observe this trend “I was in hopes you might have got some good news from town”

(Austen, 2003: 223). Normally, in present-day English the word that should be after

‘hopes’.

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3. Use of irony in the novel

3.1. Irony as a whole

The third part of my dissertation will be wholly devoted to irony. Some people believe

that the novel Pride and Prejudice should be understood as irony as a whole. Irony can

be seen in Austen’s narrative style, dialogues between both the main and supporting

characters and in descriptions of situation or behaviour. What is more, even the first

sentence of the novel is filled with irony, therefore the opening sentence will be

discussed first. However, a definition of irony is necessary in order to begin

investigating the issue. With reference to oxforddictionaries (online), irony is

understood as “the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally

signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect”. In other words, words

or phrases are presented in a way that is completely different from what normally

people know and understand due to acquiring desirable effects. While taking into

consideration irony in Jane Austen’s novels, we should understood the use of irony as a

technique used to improve the novel and to create something new, simply in making

dialogues, situation and characters unique.

Austen, in the first lines of the first chapter, wrote “It is a truth universally

acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a

wife” (Austen, 2003: 9). When the reader begins reading the first sentence, he or she

notices that there should be a mistake here because it sounds highly unbelievable that

the only thing a wealthy man wants is a wife. And even more, according to the first

lines it is not only Austen’s opinion but many people believe it. Readers who have poor

knowledge of Austen’s times and of the conventions ruling in society might believe in

this information. But the reader who is strongly interested in the topic will be slightly in

shock when reading this line due to the fact that the truth is rather the opposite. Most

single women were in want of a husband due to their horrible material conditions. The

family assured the income for ladies from the aristocracy or wealthy gentry.

Unfortunately, the rest of the women were to fight for their future situation. For most of

them the finest solution was found in marrying an affluent man. Therefore, they were

desperately searching for a future spouse, not a gentleman. To sum up, the situation was

contrary to the information provided by Austen in the first chapter (Moler, 1989).

Austen used this technique in order to commence her novel with something

25

extraordinary, with some words which would shock the reader and catch his or her

attention.

3.2. Irony of the characters and situation

The next interesting way of using irony is presented in the descriptions of the

characters. These characters obviously assume ironic roles in the novel. The first

character whom Austen entrusted with an ironic role is Miss Elizabeth Bennet. She is

responsible for the analyses of people who are in her close attendance. Moreover, she is

in charge of dividing people into two categories. The first group consists of characters

for whom a deeper consideration is needed if the reader wants to understand the novel,

and the second consists of those characters for whom not much effort is needed in order

to understand them correctly. Mudrick (1968: 95) called the former intricate and the

latter simple. It is clear to say that the simple characters have features which other

people have no difficulty in understanding. Intricate characters, however, are very

complicated but more valuable for the discussion in comparison to the simple ones.

Among the representatives of the simple characters we can distinguish Mrs Bennet or

Mr Collins, although Mr Bingley or Jane Bennet should also be taken into consideration

because of the simplicity they represent. However, this simplicity should be understood

in a positive sense. Both of them are so sincere and good that we as the readers could

not expect any bad thinking or undertakings on their behalf. Among those more difficult

characters to understand are Mr Darcy. His speeches and the way in which he behaves

make him unique among the others. As for Mrs Bennet, we must admit that she is one

of the most predictable characters in the novel. The economic situation and the law

regulations were rather evident and unquestionable. However, she continuously dares to

discuss and question them in the face of Miss Collins’ visit. According to the law, the

priest has the right to the whole estate after Mr Bennet’s death. Therefore, information

about the visit not only makes her angry but also allows her to comment on the

unwelcome visitor and the unbeneficial law. However, her commentary is very

predictable. After reading a few pages of the novel the reader is aware of her

emotionalism and unreasonable utterances, therefore he or she could expect what she

will do in the face of the possibility of losing the house. A very similar situation takes

place when the subject of marrying her daughters appears on the horizon. She even does

not pay attention to the people who are taking part in the conversation. Namely, the

presence of Mr Darcy does not discourage her from commenting on the benefits of Mr

26

Bingley marrying Miss Jane. This is not only a lack of good manners but also an act of

stupidity. Knowing that Mr Darcy is Mr Bingley’s close friend should discourage her

from talking about the material situation. She should be aware of the fact that Mr Darcy

could transfer this news to his friend. However, the reader knows her character,

therefore a different attitude towards the issue of marrying is not expected (Mudrick,

1968).

What is more shocking is that Mrs Bennet has no respect or honour for both her

daughters and her husband. As Mudrick (1968) noticed, she does not bother about the

health and good condition of Jane Bennet and refuses to allow her to take any transport

to Bingley’s estate. The latter is thus forced to go on foot for more than three miles even

if the weather is not fine for walks. Moreover, she does not hold her husband in high

regards as well. While eating, sitting in the living room or doing other things, she

mentions Mr Bennet’s possible death and the misery she and her daughters will

experience in the event of his death. Mudrick (1968:98) commented that “she can speak

about her husband’s death as if it is imminent”. To sum up, not only illnesses or her

relatives’ potential deaths but also any other potential consequences are of much lower

importance than the results she wants to obtain from her decisions. However, the reader

should not except anything different as this is Mrs Bennet – a simple character. She

represents a simple way of thinking in which she does not consider the other characters,

their reactions and opinions. The only thing she cares about is obtaining what she wants.

Therefore, one should not expect anything extraordinary in her way of acting. However,

we cannot judge Mrs Bennet in categories of good – bad. She behaves as her “weak

understanding” (Austen, 2003: 11) suggests her to be. She does not want to harm her

family deliberately. It is her way of thinking that suggests to her that those particular

steps would be better for them. Moreover, she cannot be blamed for her inborn stupidity

and lack of manners.

What is more, Lydia is Mrs Bennet’s mirror image: the same stupidity, lack of manners

and questionable behaviour are presented. Therefore, Elizabeth, as the judge of

characters, puts Lydia in the same group in which Mrs Bennet is situated. However, as

Mudrick (1968) suggested, Lydia should also be perceived as the victim. She is too

young and, what is more destructive, with no experience. Therefore, she is not aware of

the consequences of her instant decisions. Her imprudent disappearance with one of the

soldiers from the regiment, Mr Wickham, could not only ruin her own reputation but

27

also harm the whole family’s good name. Although we as readers could not expect

anything wiser from Miss Lydia, not only the issues mentioned here but also a lack of

good and moral upbringing led her to this thoughtless decision. The lack of common

sense and youth led her to a simple and misleading way of thinking. But, once again we

cannot only blame Lydia for the errors she has made. Omitting Mrs Bennet’s fault, Mr

Bennet also made many mistakes. The worst one was to allow Miss Lydia to go to

Brighton. Moreover, Mr Darcy should also be responsible for the situation. If Mr Darcy

had revealed Mr Wickham’s true colours, the tragedy would never have taken place. To

sum up, those intricate characters also make many mistakes in the novel and their

renunciation sometimes brings about worse effects than the ugly truth they have to

share.

Simple characters not distinguished from the Bennet family but who also take on great

roles in Pride and Prejudice are Mr Collins and Lady Catherine de Bourg. The former

provides the novel with a pinch of burlesque and ridicules conduct. However, as

Mudrick (1968) suggested, Elizabeth could be much freer in her judgements because

she did not have to consider her family matters as the two presented ladies above.

Obviously, Elizabeth grouped him in the simple category, not because his manners were

bad but because of his exaggeration and constant pompousness. His awareness of the

rank and family connections are so evident to him that he feels free in sharing this

information with others. He knows that in the future he might be in possession of

Bennet’s estate, therefore he allows himself to ask one of the Bennet’s daughters for her

hand in marriage. What is more, he is absolutely sure about the fact that Miss Elizabeth

will accept his offer and would be very grateful for such an opportunity. While Miss

Elizabeth tries to stop his attempts, he does not consider them and still continues his

utterances about the benefits of the marriage. Fortunately, he does this in such a way

that it is not amusing but could also be seen as a simple way of thinking. The latter,

however, Lady Catherine should be perceived as simple due to her importance in the

novel despite her very simple way of thinking. However, this importance should be

understood as the link or path to Miss Elizabeth and Mr Darcy’s happiness. Due to her

visit in Elizabeth’s house and attempts to separate the lovers, Mr Darcy gains strength to

propose marriage to Miss Elizabeth for the second time. Her simple way of thinking

leads to a completely different result than she had expected. Moreover, she should not

only be understood as a simple character but also as a very interesting one due to her

28

excessive interference in matters. She is deeply convinced that the importance of her

rank and title gives her the opportunity to force her beliefs on others (Mudrick, 1968).

Another interesting character whom we as the readers could name simple is Miss Jane

Bennet. However, her simplicity ought to be considered on a different level than the

people presented previously. Her simplicity is noticeable in her attitude towards people

by her perceiving them all as innocent. Mudrick (1968: 105) called this “honest

blindness” because she really does not see evil in anyone. This simple and, as

previously stated, blindness leads her to disgrace after her lover leaves the country upon

Mr Darcy’s and Miss Bingley’s suggestions. Fortunately, love survives every

inconvenience and they fulfil the union in the end. However, as Mudrick (1968: 106)

writes, “Jane and Bingley provide us, then, with one of the book’s primary ironies: that

love is simple and straightforward, and immediate only for very simple people”. In

other words, Miss Jane and Mr Bingley deserve a simple and straightforward love but,

unfortunately, no love can avoid many disturbances. The fact that they are simple

characters and that they deserve a simple love is not enough. Life verifies whether they

will be together or not. To sum up, both Miss Jane Bennet and Mr Bingley are supposed

to be simple characters, however their love is not simple at all. In some sense they have

to fight for love or at least wait for the others to help them in achieving happiness in

life.

On the other hand, the intelligent Miss Charlotte ought to be called simple as well,

despite her foolish decision to marry Mr Collins. Miss Elizabeth is in a very difficult

situation when it comes to judging Charlotte. This is her closest friend and they almost

always share the same opinion on many different issues. However, Miss Lucas makes

the exception when the possibility of marriage appears on the horizon. She is aware that

her chances of marrying are very poor, therefore she agrees to marry a man whom she

has no feelings for. Mr Collins, as was previously mentioned, is noticed by Miss

Elizabeth as extremely foolish and the last candidate for a husband for her friend. Even

Charlotte’s intelligence does not discourage her from taking the step and the material

benefits are of higher importance. Thus, Miss Elizabeth has to place her in both groups,

simple and complicated people, but the decisions she made are on the basis of common

sense.

29

What is more, the previously discussed Lydia and Wickham are also complicated

characters, however, their situation should also be treated in a strong ironic sense. All

characters except for Miss Lydia, Kitty and Mrs Bennet are aware of the horrible results

of the unexpected situation and marriage with Mr Wickham. However, Miss Lydia,

without considering any objection to the idea, offers her sisters a visit in the place where

she has found a husband. Lydia says “... when you go away, you may leave one or two

of my sisters behind you; and I dare say I shall get a husband for them before the winter

is over” (Austen, 2003:234). And her proposition is not left without Elizabeth’s proper

comment: “I thank you for my share of the favour... but I do not particularly like your

way of getting husbands” (Austen, 2003:235). Thus Elizabeth’s response is not only

filled with anger but also with much irony. The way in which Lydia got her husband

was highly disapproved of and none of the girls wanted to be in a similar situation.

Therefore, Miss Elizabeth firmly refused it. Lydia’s unawareness is very shocking, not

only for Miss Elizabeth but also for the readers. Thus, Miss Elizabeth’s words have to

be understood as highly ironical and full of astonishment at her sister’s words and

behaviour.

When it comes to discussing irony, the character who deserves deeper insight is Mr

Bennet. He also obtained a role which Miss Elizabeth was entrusted with. Namely, he

was also given the role of “ironic spectator” (Mudrick, 1968). However, he is less active

than Elizabeth. She comments on both her family and friends and on the people who

take part in every situation, thus he assumes a completely different role. He rather

observes people and events and later changes them into a joke or funny commentary,

especially when mainly focusing on his close family. He has adapted the role of the

observer.

The next character who is supposed to be complex is Mr Darcy. With reference to

Mudrick (1968), he is one of the most complex characters in the novel due to his

freedom of choice or, as Mudrick (1968:124) wrote, “the power of choice”. He is a very

wealthy man, the owner of a beautiful estate and, what might be relevant, he is not only

handsome but also intelligent. Therefore, he could have any woman he wishes to have

to become his wife. However, he rejects Miss Bingley’s courtship and, in the end,

chooses a woman with a much lower position in rank. He chooses Miss Elizabeth

because this is the only lady who can bring happiness into his life. He does not take into

consideration any family objections and reputation. He simply cares about happiness,

30

although most of his relatives hope that he will find a better future spouse. Mr Darcy is

also a complicated character because he fights his own feelings and thoughts. On the

one hand, he is aware of his affection for Elizabeth. On the other hand, however, he

knows that a relationship with her is less desirable in comparison to wealthy or well-

born ladies. It sometimes seems like an internal battle against his own limitations.

Therefore, it makes him a complicated hero. However, his decisions, for instance, about

helping Miss Lydia or Mr Bingley are made on the basis of his own reflections and,

what is more relevant, thanks to his own will. In comparison to a simple character, Mr

Darcy’s decisions are not determined by the events but by his own reflections and will.

What is more, this fact distinguishes him from the others (Mudrick, 1968).

The most controversial about Pride and Prejudice is information that it is a very

readable novel. It has many supporters, although it seems very simple in structure. Jane

Austen presents the characters as they are, shows the problems that ordinary people of

the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries had to solve and what premises they had to

behave in these particular ways. However, fiction has many readers and their number is

still growing. Numerous years after the first publication, many people are interested in

Austen’s writing. But what is so extraordinary in the book? What is so unique that so

many individuals reach for it? The first reason lies simply in the book’s structure. With

reference to Southam (1976: 169), the clue to the popularity of the novel lies in its

components. Namely, Pride and Prejudice is a combination of “poetic satire and ... the

novel”. In other words, the general structure is very similar to the works of other writers

of her time but it also consists in wit and irony. And the two latter components make

Jane Austen’s work extremely unique. The opening sentence of Pride and Prejudice

that was previously discussed is not only ironic but wit is also noticeable in it. The

madness presented by Mrs Bennet when she hears the news about Mr Bingley’s arrival

is extremely amusing. Moreover, Mrs Bennet’s foolish predictions that he will marry

one of her daughters without even seeing them sounds rather like a situation taken from

a good comedy than from a serious novel. Her excitement and continuous repetitions

make the reader start laughing at her. And the most humorous is the fact that she is

extremely serious about these issues and treats the good news like a blessing from God.

She exclaims about Mr Bingley’s arrival: “What a fine thing for our girls! (Austen,

2003: 9).

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4. Symbolism in Pride and Prejudice

The third important element of Jane Austen’s language is connected with symbolism.

With reference to oxforddictionaries (online), symbolism should be understood as “the

use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities”. To put it differently, the author uses

special words or expressions to outline connections among different things; for instance,

when the writer provides the reader with information that a person reads or has a great

collection of books, it should be understood that he or she is in want of reading, not only

possessing them. What is more, by reading books I understood as a highly intellectual

activity and one might assume that the person is relatively intelligent and wise when

understanding all of those books. In Pride and Prejudice, the word book or library is

used when talking about an intelligent, and very commonly, a wealthy man. However,

most of the characters do not show off when it comes to their collections of books. Mr

Darcy replies “It (the library) ought to be good… it has been the work of many

generations” (Austen, 2003: 34). However, the word library could be comprehended in

a completely different way when talking about Mr Bennet’s library. According to Moler

(1989), the library is the only place where he could find peace and rest. Having a silly

wife and three unreasonable daughters pushed him to a place where no nonsense could

be found. Moreover, Moler (1989) suggested that this escaping to the library should also

be understood as hiding from the duties and responsibilities of life. The library and

book motifs could be noticeable also among fairly treating the sexes. The most accurate

example is Miss Elizabeth Bennet, who adores reading. What is more, she does it

instinctively and reading provides her with all sorts of happiness. She does not want to

impress anyone or become one of those “educated women”. She just enjoys spending

time reading. Miss Bingley, in comparison, reaches for books to impress Mr Darcy. She

is not half as interested in reading and educating herself. She only sees this as a great

opportunity to find a topic to converse with him. But he makes no responses to her

questions about the book. She believes that these undertakings will help her in gaining a

beneficial marriage.

Moreover, in the novel the music motif can be found and is also used when discussing

social expectations towards educated women. Miss Bingley says that “accomplished

women must have thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing and the

modern languages, to deserve the word” (Austen, 2003: 35). Although Miss Bennet

32

does not match this description, she manages to find a respectable husband and love.

Therefore, broad knowledge and skills in almost every discipline were not of the highest

importance. Once again, Miss Elizabeth and Georgiana are the only two who find

pleasure in playing a musical instrument because they like music. They do not pay any

attention to conventions and treat it like a hobby and self-development (Moler, 1989).

The landscape and natural beauty are the next interesting elements when talking about

motifs in Jane Austen’s novels. When investigating these two subjects we are provided

with deeper insight into the nature of human beings. Namely, not until visiting

Pemberley’s gardens (on Mr Darcy’s estate) does Miss Elizabeth understand the true

character of Mr Darcy. She cannot believe that the owner of such immense and

beautiful gardens could be an evil man soon after the visit. Miss Elizabeth instantly

changes her opinion about him. Therefore, Austen, by showing the beauty of nature,

simultaneously presents the real nature of people. Namely, beautiful nature should be

understood as the beautiful soul of a person. Moreover, somebody who possesses

natural beauty should be perceived as a good man or woman. A walking nature is also

noticeable in Miss Elizabeth. She adores long walks among trees and a great variety of

plants. However, Austen also uses the word walking in a different way. While

describing Miss Bingley’s walking in the room, she puts emphasis on walking as a

symbol of seducing. The situation is uncomplicated – Mr Darcy, Mr Bingley, Miss

Elizabeth Bennet and Miss Bingley are sitting in the sitting room. Mr Darcy is focused

on writing but Miss Bingley wants to catch his attention, therefore she stands up and

starts walking in the room with as much grace as possible. Unfortunately, for her these

steps do not bring the expected results, as Mr Darcy is still concentrated on writing. To

sum up, walking should be understood in two ways. The first refers to a praise of nature,

and the second should be understood as a failure in getting a husband for good

prosperity (Moler, 1989).

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5. Jane Austen’s other narrative techniques

5.1. Use of limitation of description and exclamation of some words

Jane Austen’s style of writing is also worth deeper consideration. Moreover, the style is

rather unique when it comes to the structure of sentences. One of the best passages for

consideration can be found in the first chapter at the beginning. Namely, the novel

opens with some sentences about the “truth universally acknowledged”, and later it

leads to a conversation between Mr and Mrs Bennet. However, what is surprising is that

there is no information provided about the name of the room they lead the conversation

in and we do not know anything about the two characters apart from their names. The

reader is not provided with any features of face and body. The reader will not encounter

not only any details of the character but also any extensive descriptions (Moler, 1989).

The information that a young wealthy man is coming to town seems the most important.

However, the reader also gets information about Bingley’s arrival from the Bennets’

conversation. There is no word presented in the text both preceding and following the

dialogue between the couple. What is more, Moler (1989) claims that limitations of

descriptions are used deliberately in the novel. Their lack and the dominance of

conversational scenes gives the reader the opportunity to read it with not much effort.

Readers in Jane Austen’s times mostly read aloud to members of the family, friends or

guests. Therefore, dialogues were more enjoyable to read and, what is more important,

to listen to in comparison to extensive descriptions. People in those times were not

interested in the description of a room, and it did not matter whether the characters were

in the kitchen or study and what a particular room looked like. Due to having excellent

knowledge about all of the pieces of furniture appearing there, more valuable

information or at least more interesting information was presented. The colour of the

skin, wrinkles or other features were of low importance. The author of the novel had to

display not only unique conversations but also wrote them in a manner that could be

shocking in some sense; for instance, when Mrs Bennet was in want of sharing the good

information about Mr Bingley’s prompt arrival, her husband replied that “You want to

tell me, and I have more objection to hearing it” (Austen, 2003: 9). Normally, a loving

husband would agree with more enthusiasm to her news when seeing her engagement in

the subject. But he used the word objections, which seems like a slightly arrogant

attitude towards her. This is kept in the convention of “if you want to tell me something

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you can but you do not have to. Everything that is important to you does not interest me

at all”. The reader of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries did not expect

answers to be held in this tone, and rather romance novels filled about love were read.

On the other hand, as Moler (1989) notices, people were not in want of reading books

which touched upon serious matters and taught in what manner people should behave or

react. With great opposition Fordyce’s sermons, introduced by Mr Collins, were

rejected. While reading these sermons there was no human being interested in listening

to them. All in all, hardly any of the members of society wanted to take part in dull

activities, they treated reading as an activity that was enjoyable and pleasant.

Moreover, Austen wrote her novel in the spirit of exclamation of the mind’s excellence.

The author mostly focused on the character’s mental and internal abilities rather than on

his or her external appearance. Austen usually used several nouns and supporting

adjectives to describe the character, both those with intellectual proficiency and those

who did not have anything in common with intelligence and wisdom. One of the

characters who is described in this way is, once again, Mrs Bennet. While describing

her, Austen (2003:9) used the following nouns and adjectives “…mean understanding,

little information, uncertain temper” and many others which put emphasis only on the

qualities of her mind, there was no allusion to her looks. The only word which refers to

her appearance is “handsome”.

What is more, Miss Mary Bennet’s character was used very originally in the novel. Her

speeches are filled with so much exaggeration and pompousness that every reader can

see that her role in the novel should be discussed. Miss Mary often uses metaphors the

wrong way and her sentences refer to great writers, although the situation is not so

important and there is no need to refer to great people of the world. Mr Collins behaves

in the same spirit in order to impress other people. And, like Mary Bennet, he often uses

metaphors. Moreover, Miss Mary’s conduct and speeches are often compared to Miss

Lydia’s. With reference to Moler (1989), Miss Lydia’s sentences are filled with

“particularized language”. In other words, she very often uses literal words to describe

or explain an activity. In the novel we find “I did not once put my foot out of doors”

(Austen, 2003: 241), instead of the simple sentence “I never went out” (Moler, 1989:

74). What is more, she also often uses colloquial language and the way she speaks is

highly inappropriate. Her utterance sometimes seems like one, long sentence, and in one

breath she wants to transfer everything that she thinks and is important to say. Miss

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Mary’s utterance is completely different. She speaks fluently, however, her words are

filled with foolishness. Coming back to Lydia, it has to be mentioned that her speeches

are very similar to her mother’s: the same tone, quickness, and some colloquialisms are

noticeable. However, Mrs Bennet differs when it comes to her emotionalism. When she

speaks she often stands up, sits, wanders around the room and once again sits and stands

up until her speech is over. She often presents concerns and anxiety, maybe because her

aim in marrying all of her daughters is too exaggerated. What is also noticeable in the

way she speaks is minimalism in the words of her sentences. The sentences are not

complicated or valuable. Austen also presents a contrary character to those listed above.

Namely, Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy’s speeches are in opposition to the

utterances of the supporting character. Their dialogues seem like “a sort of challenge”

(Moler, 1989: 76). To put it another way, they often use complex sentences and their

ripostes are at a very high level. Moreover, they put great emphasis on every word they

say. Therefore, readers can constantly enjoy the great speech performances they make.

To sum up, Austen presents all kinds of utterances. Starting from Miss Mary’s and Mr

Collins’ exaggerated ones filled with metaphors, through Mrs Bennet’s and Miss

Lydia’s imprudent babble and ending on the finest and sparkling conversations between

Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy. Due to this great variety of different uses of

language, we as the readers can enjoy the novel more than novels filled with extensive

descriptions.

5.2. Use of allusion

Allusions in Pride and Prejudice are also often noticeable techniques to be exploited by

Jane Austen. With reference to the dictionary reference (online), allusion is understood

as an act of “passing or casual reference to an incidental mention of something either

directly or by implication”. In other words, this is a suggestion to the works of different

authors which could be used in a straightforward way or, what is more common, via the

use of indirect words. Jane Austen’s allusions are once again unique and, according to

Moler (1989: 84), this was “an artistic strategy”. Namely, even the title of the novel is

an allusion to other works, as Austen uses the words “pride and prejudice” deliberately.

The novelist was aware that the two words would sound familiar to many readers of her

times due to their common use in eighteenth and nineteenth stories. As a result, many of

those people would be willing to reach for a book with a title consisting of these two

words (Moler, 1989). Moreover, once again the first sentence of the novel ought to be

36

recalled because some allusions are noticeable in the structure. First, we should have

deeper insight into something that is “universally acknowledged” (Austen, 2003: 9) and

which, according to Moler (1989), is a great allusion to the consensus gentium.

According to the popular encyclopedia, Wikipedia (online), “a consensus theory of

truth is the process of taking statements to be true simply because people generally

agree upon them.” That is to say, this is common agreement on a particular issue.

Moreover, Moler (1989) also suggests that the issue of consensus gentium was often

used by other writers of Austen’s times, mostly by philosophers.

5.3. Language of the main characters

The main characters of Pride and Prejudice, i.e. Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Mr

Fitzwilliam Darcy, are also interesting, especially in their verbal battles. According to

Mooneyham (1988:45), “their struggle is much against each other as it is against the

pressure of society or family”. In other words, they fight each other because of the many

misunderstandings between the lovers which are caused by a lack of knowledge and

information about past events, such as the situation with Wickham. Considering that

Miss Elizabeth would have been aware of his true colours, she would never have let her

sister go with the regiment. Moreover, she would have never refused Mr Darcy’s

proposal. And, as the result, we as the readers would not be the witnesses of many

valuable verbal battles. What is more, as was previously mentioned, both of them fight

against the rules of society and family. Mr Darcy has to fight with the difference in the

social position of his lover and Miss Elizabeth with the inappropriate behaviour of her

sisters and especially of her mother. However, Mooneyham (1988:45), later in his

critical work about the language in Pride and Prejudice, writes that this is a battle upon

“two conflicting modes of judgement..., two conflicting systems of language”. To put it

another way, both characters represent completely two different ways of speaking and

their attitudes towards them. And, to be honest, almost the whole novel is based on their

dialogues. Mooneyham (1988) suggests that the plot is more interesting when the main

characters present their opinions. Therefore, the structure of the novel is of minor

importance in comparison to Miss Elizabeth’s and Mr Darcy’s parts. Moreover, the

novel has to be divided into two parts. The first part consists of the increase in pride in

Mr Darcy and prejudice in Miss Elizabeth, and then the climax in which Mr Darcy’s

proposal is rejected by Miss Elizabeth. Then the second part of the novel is sentenced to

a reconciliation of the lovers who at the end of the novel throw away all the pride and

37

prejudices they had been absorbing throughout the book. Moreover, the language also

changes significantly throughout the novel. Mr Darcy’s utterances are filled with great

distance towards other people and which by many characters are understood as pride.

On the other hand, Miss Elizabeth’s language is characterised by cleverness joined with

humour. She often changes a hopeless situation into a small joke or turns the subject of

the conversation into something completely different in order to avoid an unpleasant

commentary, especially about members of her family. However, when she leads the

conversation with Mr Darcy she uses the most valuable part of her body, meaning her

intelligence. All of her ripostes are filled with the power of mind. She treats every word

separately and has an answer to all of Darcy’s questions. Later, and especially at the end

of the novel, both ways of speaking change considerably. Both of them do not want to

impress anybody, they reject all pride and prejudices which they were overwhelmed

with and pure love is of the highest importance. They speak in a way to avoid hurting

each other (Mooneyham, 1988). However, the roots of the pride and prejudice in our

characters are interesting too. Obviously these are events of the past, lack of information

and pattern of upbringing. But this is also “self-love” (Mooneyham, 1988: 47) that is

responsible for the many misunderstandings and harms done. Both of them are

concentrated on their infallibility of thoughts and opinions. They are deeply assured that

their way of thinking and acting lacks imperfection. Luckily, the inner battles force

away all pride and prejudices in both lovers.

The language itself is also worth deeper consideration. When talking about language

filled with pride, it should be understood as language which is “reserved and

authoritative” (Mooneyham, 1988: 47). In other words, the person uses limitations when

the tone of voice is decisive. When it comes to language that is full of prejudice, it

ought to be understood as language in which a person speaks fluently when discussing a

problem and the person is self-assured that he or she has absolute knowledge about the

issue. However, Miss Elizabeth’s and Mr Darcy’s language differ not only on the

grounds of pride and prejudice, as also a difference is noticeable in the way they speak.

Miss Elizabeth plays with language somehow, she uses other people’s words or

expressions in a way that is not only ironical but also filled with humour.

Moreover, the problem of communication between Miss Elizabeth and Mr Darcy occurs

due to Miss Elizabeth’s problem with understanding her true emotions towards Mr

Darcy. At the beginning of the novel she wants to punish his pride and all of her actions

38

are done in order to fulfil her aims. This is met with a completely different reaction. Mr

Darcy is rather astonished at her comments and the way she spoke to him. And,

fortunately, in consequence this leads them to happiness because Miss Elizabeth’s

utterances differed from those of all the ladies who were desperately in search of a

husband and who saw in him only the possibility of having a comfortable home

(Mooneyham, 1988). To sum up, the unusual language is a kind of link between the

lovers and happiness.

When talking about the language, the minor importance of some aspects is also

interesting to talk about. With reference to Mooneyham (1988), this is the event if Mr

Bennet did not have any male successors. Namely, he has five daughters and has no

sons. Therefore, the importance of their family and also their language is lower than the

language which is presented by Mr Darcy himself and his family. And as Mooneyham

(1988) suggests, “a hint of class struggle in the battle of words between Elizabeth and

Darcy” is noticeable. The difference is also seen in the letters. While writing, Mr

Darcy’s words are mostly sophisticated and sometimes seem even old-fashioned.

Moreover, the sentences are extended and written after longer investigation and, what is

most important, after deep consideration (Mooneyham, 1988). In other words, he writes

in a way which distinguishes him from the other letter writers. He not only uses

complicated expressions but also the style is extraordinary. Probably the influence of

education and the specific language which was used among his family members had a

great impact on his special devotion to the issue of writing. On the contrary, Miss

Elizabeth’s language differs from Mr Darcy’s on the grounds of education. She was

only given a basic home education provided by her parents. However, the many hours

spent in Mr Bennet’s library gave her the opportunity to broaden her knowledge and her

way of perceiving issues and created her own view of certain aspects. To put it another

way, the knowledge she possesses due to her hard work and devotion to reading and

learning could only show her determination and want. Therefore, in Jane Austen’s Pride

and Prejudice readers are provided with two opposite language systems. However, the

reader is not obliged to decide which is better or more valuable. But one does have the

opportunity to observe how the difference may have an impact on their communication

at the beginning of their acquaintance. And, fortunately, regardless of those changes in

the way of speaking, the lovers make a great union at the end of the novel.

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In the later part of the critical work about Jane Austen’s language, Mooneyham (1988)

also mentions the language of the other characters. One of them is the priest, Mr

Collins, whose speeches are filled with absurdity and confidence in the sense of feeling

superiority over others. He is absolutely sure about being accepted after his first

proposal to Elizabeth. However, especially his motivation, presumptions and the

manner he speaks in show him as an absurd man. Miss Elizabeth expects much more

from her future husband. She is not only searching for affection but also for a man in

whom she can find a companion for a meaningful conversation. It is obvious that love is

of a higher importance, however, how can an intelligent woman love a man of weak

intellect. The next in the row is Mr Wickham, whose utterances sound as if derived

from love stories. His behaviour and the way he speaks testify that he is a true

gentleman with whom all ladies want to stay with. As Mooneyham (1988) claims, he

also has the ability of turning almost every topic into a truly nice subject of

conversation. Moreover, the author suggests that the way he speaks differs significantly

from Mr Darcy’s language on the grounds of effortlessness and lightness. Apparently,

his utterances are spontaneous and unforced. However, later in the novel we learn that

he speaks and behaves that way to achieve aims he previously thought about. He is an

excellent liar who uses words to create an illusion of a poor man who was hurt by Mr

Darcy many years ago. At the beginning of the novel his speeches are successful,

however, later in the book his good deeds are appreciated. Mooneyham (1988) adds that

the reader ought to pay attention to the differences between those who speak much,

especially about feelings, and those who are reserved when it comes to speaking. The

author claims that being reserved in speaking should indicate being more mentally

involved. Namely, Mr Darcy, who rarely speaks, displays more affection and love than

Mr Wickham, who is demonstrative both in showing feelings, comments and telling

stories. The final conversation between Miss Elizabeth and Mr Wickham is also very

interesting, when the former is aware of the latter’s true colours the conversation is led

in a different manner than previously. Miss Elizabeth does not speak openly and

chooses words which are sufficient to hurt him by avoiding speaking straightforwardly.

All in all, characters who speak much are rather weak in fulfilling their promises.

Moreover, the character of Mr Wickham is a warning against silver-tongued people and

the lesson should be learnt that these types of people should be avoided or not taken

seriously.

40

What is more, the language of Lady Catherine is also compared by Mooneyham (1988)

to Mr Darcy’s on the grounds of the origin and education she was given many years

before. However, it also differs significantly. She not only behaves but also speaks like

an absolute. She is convinced of her position in the rank and society, therefore she feels

free to judge others. Fortunately, her confidence is shaken by Elizabeth’s extraordinary

responses. She does not care about her reputation and does not answer questions that are

strongly inconvenient to her; for instance, she refuses to answer the question about her

age and later in the novel she refuses to answer any question which she does not want to

make an answer to.

What is more, the subjects of conversation should also be discussed. As Mooneyham

(1988) claims, excessive passages of the novel are dedicated to the appearance of most

of the female characters. One of the women to whom special devotion is given is Miss

Elizabeth Bennet. Even when introducing a woman to a newly arrived family the issue

of Miss Elizabeth’s looks is presented. At the beginning, Mr Darcy did not see anything

extraordinary in Miss Elizabeth. But soon he noticed she was a mixture of a beautiful

and intelligent woman. However, the issue presented above is also interesting due to its

importance during Miss Elizabeth and Mr Darcy’s conversations. The former is aware

of the fact that she is only “tolerable; not handsome enough to temp [him]” (Austen,

2003: 15). After hearing these words she decided not to pay any special attention to

him. She simply avoided dancing, speaking and doing things with him. However, the

plot of the novel forces her to have many conversations with him. But what is most

surprising is that Mr Darcy’s utterances have a great impact on their conversational

scenes. As now the dialogues between them are filled with pride and prejudices. The

visit to Darcy’s estate is a turning point in their attitudes towards each other. However,

it is not the change that is important while talking about their language but the linguistic

point of view on the matter. As Mooneyham (1988) claims, the length of the sentences

during their conversation is changeable. At the beginning, both of them use very short

sentences and the topics of conversation vary throughout the novel. On the day of Mr

Darcy’s arrival and during Mr Bingley’s ball, they are concentrated on subjects related

to the events which took place during the ball, and Miss Elizabeth’s speech becomes

“less heedless, more tempered” (Mooneyham). In other words, throughout the novel, to

be more precise since the first proposal, Miss Elizabeth is more cautious about what she

says to others. She even does not tell her sister the whole truth about the reasons for Mr

41

Bingley’s instant departure in order to avoid hurting her dearest sister Jane. Moreover,

sometimes Miss Elizabeth remains silent and, as Mooneyham claims, she does not

comment due to her uncertainty of feelings towards Mr Darcy. However, sometimes

Miss Elizabeth has to face the consequences of her earlier judgements; for instance, her

unfavourable words describing Mr Darcy have a great effect later on Mr Bennet’s

astonishment when his daughter and Mr Darcy want to join in a union in the name of

love. All in all, not only the language but also the manner in which the characters

perform their speeches change throughout the novel. Moreover, words or comments

once said have a great impact on later events and perceptions of people. As a result, it is

very difficult to retract words which have been spoken. Thus readers can understand the

issue of language above as a king of appeal for people to avoid deciding upon one

character on the grounds of their looks or the few conversations performed.

Resoluteness, deeper insight and time spent with others are needed. Moreover,

judgement at first sight is distorted in almost every situation. Miss Elizabeth not only

perceives Mr Darcy in the wrong way but also Mr Wickham’s true face differs in

comparison to the incidental visit on the street.

5.4. Jane Austen’s style in the novel

When talking about Jane Austen’s novels, her attitude or rather the way in which the

author presents her characters ought to be discussed. According to Wright (1962), even

the descriptions in the first chapter could be interesting. Namely, the novel begins with

an excessive dialogue between Mr and Mrs Bennet, from which the readers get to know

that a young wealthy man is coming to the country. Unexpectedly, after the dialogue a

personal description of Mr and Mrs Bennet is provided. Therefore, the way in which

both of them led the conversation, the words and expressions they used should be

understood as a source of information about the previously mentioned hero and heroine.

However, after reading the whole book we find that this description is very limited. In

later chapters the readers find out that Mr Bennet is not only a husband whose business

of life is mocking his wife and silly daughters but that he is also a man whose lack in his

daughters’ upbringing has many catastrophic consequences in future events. Mrs

Bennet, however, is not only a woman of “mean understanding, little information...[and]

...that the business of her life was to get her daughters married” (Austen, 2003: 9) but

that she is also one of the most self-centred characters in the novel. In other words, she

was not truly interested in marrying her daughters off but to provide herself with a

42

comfortable shelter after Mr Bennet’s death. However, the reader learns about this after

having read the whole novel. All in all, Jane Austen is a mistress of limitation, and this

gradual providing of information is named “the objective account” by Wright

(1962:47). To put it another way, in the first chapter after the long dialogue, Austen is

only ready to write about the characters’ qualities which are visible at first glance.

However, Austen sometimes makes exceptions and provides more information about

the characters by using the opinions of others in the text; for example, when readers

read about Mr Bennet’s reasons for marrying Ms Bennet, the text is preceded by giving

Miss Elizabeth’s name. Therefore, it seems to look like a description or opinion on a

certain issue is provided by Jane Austen, however, by using Miss Elizabeth’s mouth. On

the other hand, the readers are aware that Miss Elizabeth is too young to have any

awareness of past events before Bennet’s marriage and soon after it (Wright, 1962).

Moreover, as Wright (1962) also observed, comments on Lydia’s behaviour after

marrying Mr Wickham are so strong that none of the ladies would say such strong

words. Therefore, readers ought to comprehend these as Austen’s words of commentary

to the event which took place a few days before Lydia’s arrival. She is not emotionally

involved in the situation, therefore, her words ought to be understood as strongly

objective. The author knows her own characters and is not afraid of commenting on

their decisions, behaviour and motifs.

Consequently, when talking about Jane Austen’s style it ought to be mentioned that the

style has some dramatic features. This is especially noticeable in the dialogues

presented in Pride and Prejudice. One of the most evident dramatic dialogues is

presented in the scene where Lady Catherine de Bourg unexpectedly arrives at the

Bennets’ house. According to Wright (1962), the use of irony has a strong power when

perceiving the scene as taken from a drama. Austen (2003) first presents Lady Catherine

as evasive of any explanations regarding coming to Longbourn:

Though I know it must be a scandalous falsehood, though I would not injure him so

much as to suppose the truth of it possible, I instantly resolved on setting off for this

place, that I might make my sentiments known to you (Austen, 2003: 259-260).

And Miss Elizabeth responds as follows:

If you believed it impossible to be true ... I wonder you took the trouble of coming

so far. What could your ladyship propose by it (Austen, 2003: 260).

43

The whole situation and dialogue seem like they have taken place in the theatre. The

situation is also unbelievable due to Lady Catherine’s attitude to the situation. And her

whole departure late at night is also unthinkable. The lady is aware and proud of her

rank and position in society, and this is a highly unprecedented situation that she should

travel to Miss Elizabeth’s to confirm that Elizabeth is engaged to her nephew, Mr

Darcy. What is more unexpected is that her action contributes to the lover’s union.

Nevertheless, the words and expressions which both ladies use are also fascinating.

Lady Catherine has become accustomed to asking people in her close attendance and

almost no one has the strength not to answer her questions. Moreover, her tone is

always filled with pride, however, in this particular situation her tone is full of anger

and excessive ignorance. Miss Elizabeth, however, is not only thunderstruck by the visit

but also finds enough strength to refute every charge. Who would be able to refute Lady

Catherine’s charges in the middle of the night? Probably no one. However, Lady

Catherine offends Miss Elizabeth and, as a result, the latter is the winner in the

conversational battle. Lady Catherine leaves the room, not only without receiving the

information she wanted to get but also, so to speak, she is asked by Miss Elizabeth to

leave the house immediately after saying the last word (Wright, 1962). All in all, the

situation ought to be understood as highly improbable, with dramatic characteristics and

irony. The first two refer to the fact of the occurrence of the whole situation and the

ironical aspect should be associated with the results the situation brings. With reference

to McMaster (1996: 83), another writer who discussed the issue of the verbal battles

between the characters, the battle between Miss Elizabeth and Lady Catherine was

named “a piece of heroism”. Of course, this is the heroism of Miss Elizabeth whose

responses required much courage and dedication. However, McMaster recalls the

passage from Pride and Prejudice in which Lady Catherine describes herself as the

most valuable person in her nephew’s life. Moreover, she adds that she has the right to

know everything about his life and issues connected with him. Therefore, the Lady

wanted to persuade and even force Miss Elizabeth to reveal the truth about her

relationship with Mr Darcy. Unfortunately for her, she did not receive the answer she

had expected before she came to the Bennets. Miss Elizabeth responded that Lady

Catherine had no right in asking her about her feelings towards Mr Darcy and any other

men. Miss Bennet said “But you are not entitled to know mine” [feelings or thoughts]

(Austen, 2003: 260). What could also be interesting from the linguistic point of view is

the construction of sentences in Miss Elizabeth’s and Lady Catherine’s speeches. The

44

latter mostly uses long or rather excessive sentences filled with serious statements as

have been presented in the two example above. She often says “I am entitled”, “I am the

nearest relation he has in the world”, “do you know who I am” (Austen, 2003: 260).

And what is also very important is that she often strongly emphasises her superiority

over others. Miss Elizabeth does not have to use long sentences to win the battles or to

fight for her opinion. In her utterances the reader does not find any words regarding

rank or superiority. In other words, she does not divide people, as every part of the

conversation is treated at the same level. To sum up, those characters who are aware of

their weaknesses in conversation or that they are not truly entitled to ask about certain

matters or comment on some issues defend their rights by using long sentences or by

emphasising their position in the family or society. These attempts, however, are

rejected by Jane Austen, and the reader can observe the triumph of those who speak

from the heart or who have to defend their rights against those who try to assault them.

In many situations in the novel it is noticeable that the author of Pride and Prejudice

sometimes acts like a defender of what is right and good. To be honest, conversations

appear very often in the novel and are of great emphasis in the novel itself. According to

McMaster (1996: 83), “the issue [of the conversational scenes, dialogues and sometime

monologues] is important enough to affect the structural scheme of the novel”. Thus,

the subject of talking is discussed very often in the novel. Many characters comment on

others’ utterances and this takes up massive passages in Pride and Prejudice.

What is more, Lady Catherine’s way of talking could also be understood as God’s

words. With reference to McMaster (1996:87), a critic who wrote Talking about Talk in

Pride and Prejudice, the author suggests that she often talks “in the same third-person

imperative voice in which God said - Let there be light”. Lady Catherine frequently uses

the expression: “Let me be rightly understood” (Austen, 2003: 260). In other words, she

behaves like the most important person in the entire world and everything that comes

out of her mouth should be understood as absolute and determined.

Subsequently, the real art in Pride and Prejudice can be observed in the passage

presenting Miss Elizabeth’s thoughts before, during and after reading Mr Darcy’s letter.

However, Austen does not present her own opinion nor her main character’s comments.

The author simply provides the reader with Miss Elizabeth’s internal considerations.

The author does not reveal anything, her opinion is silent. The novelist presents only

Miss Elizabeth’s feelings as they are and simultaneously hides her own beliefs. We as

45

the readers are involved in Miss Elizabeth’s thinking and refreshing of events from the

past (Wright, 1962).

The next interesting element of Austen’s narrative is the absence of a commentary on a

specific issue. With reference to Wallace (1995), one of the most evident situations

could be observed in Mrs Bennet’s speeches in which she claims that the importance of

the country in comparison to the city is on the same level on the grounds of

entertainment. She claims that everybody can find as much amusement both in the city

and country. Naturally, Mr Darcy’s opinion on this subject is contrary to Mrs Bennet’s

beliefs. However, he remains silent and does not share his opinion with the rest of the

guests. The same behaviour can be observed in Mr Bennet’s manners. In most situations

he also remains silent or leaves the room in order to avoid any discussion with his

family. Wallace (1995:47), in her critical work titled Getting the Whole Truth in Pride

and Prejudice, claims that this should be treated as “a defence against the demands”. In

other words, this is a kind of silent disapproval of other’s behaviour, view or request on

a particular matter. Mr Bennet does not want to take part in Mrs Bennet’s undertakings,

therefore he remains silent or runs to hide in his library. Mr Darcy, however, does not

understand and bother with Mrs Bennet’s opinion and is probably disgusted both with

her behaviour and statements. What is more, he is also aware that his disagreeing with

her would not be taken into consideration by Mrs Bennet and that she would not only

change her opinion but she would still continue her utterances. As a result, he also

remains silent. As Wallace (1995) observes, the absence of commentary is also used by

Miss Bingley to ignore others in order to draw her superiority and to turn all of the

attention on her. However, all refusals to talk bring about many bad consequences to the

characters or at least put a black shadow over them; for instance, Mr Bennet’s

continuous calmness contributes to his unhappiness in marriage and has a great impact

on his daughter’s foolish behaviour. Moreover, Mr Darcy’s rejection to dance and

talking put him in a very bad light. Since that moment he is considered a very proud and

selfish man. A very similar attitude can be noticed in Miss Bingley’s perceiving of

things. Her scarce part in the conversational scenes also presents her as a very selfish

and arrogant woman. Moreover, even readers do not pay much attention to her because

she does not share her opinions too often. Of course, one might say that she is only the

supporting character, therefore her role is limited. However, taking into consideration

the fact that Mrs Bennet is not the main character but that her speeches and opinions are

46

not only commented on by others also occurs in the novel very often. Moreover, we

have to remember that she is the first person who begins to speak. Therefore, being

active during conversations ought to be understood as a virtue. On the other hand,

readers are also aware that Mrs Bennet’s lack of manners and inappropriate comments

frighten away both Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley. Mrs Bennet’s behaviour almost separates

the lovers forever. Moreover, readers know that also Mr Bennet ought to be blamed for

the misfortune in the marriage. His wife’s beauty has vanished irreversibly and the only

thing that remains is Mrs Bennet’s foolishness, continuous comments and lack of proper

behaviour. In some sense he has the right to remain silent when hearing one more

stupidity. However, he should not laugh at her and their daughters. And probably this is

the factor that broke the marriage’s happiness and put an end to the good behaviour of

their younger daughters. Later, Wallace (1995) writes that silence is also valuable to

those characters who see in this a path for their immoral deeds; for example, if Mr

Darcy did not share the ugly but true face of Mr Wickham, the latter would not have

had the opportunity to meet and inspire love in Lydia. What is more, this lack of

information turned Miss Lydia to take a bad way. And, as was previously mentioned,

her departure with Mr Wickham could have ruined the good name of the Bennets’

family. Not only was Miss Lydia’s reputation in danger but also her sisters could have

lost through thoughtless undertakings. Surprisingly, silence is also a symptom of

avoiding revealing real emotions. This kind of silence is noticeable during Miss

Elizabeth’s and the Gardiners’ travel. To be more specific, after visiting Mr Darcy’s

Pemberley, during a conversation with Miss Elizabeth the Gardiners talk only about the

estate and things connected with it, and neither Miss Bennet nor Mr and Mrs Gardiner

mention the owner of the manor. The former of course avoids mentioning Mr Darcy to

not reveal her feelings towards him. On the other hand, the Gardiners remain silent to

provoke Miss Elizabeth to start talking about him, which of course would reveal

Elizabeth’s special affection towards him.

On the contrary, presenting the villains’ talk is also worth deeper consideration,

especially the way they present stories or events of the past. Both Mr Darcy and Mr

Wickham present their versions of stories about events from the past to which Miss

Elizabeth has to make her own opinion. The latter speaks so fluently and with such

involvement that Miss Elizabeth believes “with the truth in his look” (Austen, 2003:

70). Therefore, the novelist presents quite a shocking attitude to Mr Wickham’s words.

47

Miss Elizabeth, who always uses common sense and takes into consideration the bare

facts, is deluded by the fluency of speech and Mr Wickham’s intrigues. Mr Darcy’s

words in the letter, however, are perceived differently. In other words, Miss Elizabeth

does not want to believe that her judgement of Wickham was mistaken, that the charm

of his speech and the way he described his misfortune led Miss Elizabeth to misjudge

Mr Darcy very early on. Moreover, Mr Darcy’s and Mr Wickham’s scheme of events

acquire the form of a battle. A battle which is fortunately won by the truth. Mr Darcy is

the winner, however, he does not say a word in order to prove his innocence. The only

thing he does is to write an explanatory letter. To put it another way, Mr Darcy achieves

his aim without saying anything. Thus, he proves it silently. Therefore, in some sense

silence is a better measure in order to gain previously mentioned goals (Wallace, 1995).

Very interesting is also Mr Collin’s opinion and attitude towards marriage. According to

McMaster (1996: 85), Mr Collins’ proposal is similar to a “mental checklist”. His

explanation of the benefits of marriage looks like a list of things that you have to do in

order to obtain something. He presents his point of view on marriage as a series of

thoughts and transfers them by counting them out in the proper order. It seems like he

has given them numbers. McMaster claims that he is “enumerating his reasons for

marrying ...first...secondly...and thirdly, dealing with financial arrangements”.

Miss Elizabeth, as was previously mentioned, often uses irony in her utterances.

However, she also exploits parody while speaking or presents a combination of irony

and parody. With reference to oxforddictionaries (online), parody is understood as an

action in which somebody “produces humorously an exaggerated imitation of

[something]”. In other words, somebody says something in a way that not only creates a

smile but also is in some sense ridiculous. According to McMaster (1996), in Jane

Austen the usage of parody was expressed by Miss Elizabeth in the scene in which she

was dancing with Mr Darcy. After the commentary which was contained in a few words

about the ball, she was expecting an answer from Mr Darcy and said “It is your turn to

say something now, Mr Darcy – I talked about the dance, and you ought to make some

kind of remark on the size of the room, or the number of couples” (Austen, 2003: 74).

In truth, Miss Elizabeth does not want to hear any comments about the ball. She would

like to laugh at Mr Darcy’s avoidance of speaking during balls. By using parody she

receives an answer which is also filled with irony “Perhaps bye and bye I may observe

that private balls are much pleasanter than public ones” (Austen, 2003: 74). Of course,

48

Mr Darcy would not change his opinion about the balls. He says this in order to tease

Miss Elizabeth because he has understood her message and is aware of the situation. All

in all, both Miss Elizabeth’s invitation and in some sense extortion of the conversation

and Mr Darcy’s response to this create a scene filled with parody and irony. Nor canon

nor rule in society force any particular behaviours or patterns of conversation on the

participants of public parties. This is only an allusion to retreat to talking and judgement

or an attitude to avoid socialising with others. Therefore, Miss Elizabeth acts, as

McMaster (1996: 93) claims, as a “critic”, not only a critic of behaviours but also a

critic of the way somebody speaks, or, in Mr Darcy’s case, a critic of avoidance to

speak with others.

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Conclusion

This dissertation investigated the language used in Jane Austen’s novels on the basis of

Pride and Prejudice. It is the language that is not only beautiful in its structure but also

sometimes complicated in comprehension. In each part of this dissertation the author of

this paper discussed the specific components which created the novel, which is still read

on all continents. With reference to one of the websites dedicated to the novel Pride and

Prejudice, Miasto Książek (The Town of Books) (online), we could find that over

twenty million books were sold until the year 2014 and that the number of sold books is

still growing. What is more, according to another article dedicated to the subject Pride

and Prejudice – Jane Austen (online 2015), readers could be assured that the novel is

still popular among readers. In the survey UK’s Best-Loved Book, organised by the BBC

in 2003, the novel came in second place immediately after The Lord of the Rings. To

sum up, after all these years the novel still attracts the attention of many readers, thus

the main aim of this paper was to find the answer as to why it is still popular among

readers of all ages. Why is it so special? The answer was found in the uniqueness of the

language that Jane Austen presented in Pride and Prejudice.

This uniqueness starts with the vocabulary and specific expressions that vastly differ

from our present language when it comes to meaning. The vocabulary allows readers to

learn about some aspect of the culture and conventions of the eighteenth and nineteenth

centuries. Namely, the use of positive adjectives in Austen’s novel very often changed

the character’s description; for instance, Mr. Collins was rather perceived as a foolish

man and a character at whom the reader could laugh at acquired some positive virtues

when it came to a description of his looking after the garden. Austen used the word

respectable to show that Mr Collins also deserves some positive comments. This is only

one example of the excellent techniques that completely change the meaning of most

dialogues and situations.

The second major finding was located in the second section of the work and was

devoted to grammar and its importance in the novel. When considering the grammar we

should take into consideration the omission of prepositions, might seem slightly strange

to present-day readers. On the other hand, it creates Austen’s own writing style.

Another interesting fact connected with grammar lies in the usage of conjunctions or

rather in the technique based on their maximal avoidance. In comparison with present-

50

day English, Austen’s language differs also in the grammar perspective. What is more,

simple sentences absorb a more simple tone that could be found much easier to read.

The most obvious finding in this dissertation is connected with irony in both characters

and situation. And this is the part that I strongly recommend that a deeper insight be

taken into because of the finding of how the masterpiece was made. Especially the

ironic tone of the sentence opening the novel, the irony of the characters and their ironic

roles create this novel of all times. And especially the main character, Miss Elizabeth

Bennet’s role and her speeches or dialogues both with Mr Darcy and the others once

again create this heroine of all times.

The last finding of this study indicated that the language used in the novel is so unique

because symbolism and different writing techniques are used throughout the novel. All

of the symbols and motifs introduced by Austen are created in a way that is

unprecedented nowadays. Therefore, the answer to the posed question was not only

found but it also strongly encourages new people to reach for the novel. I strongly

recommend reading Jane Austen’s novels not only to learn about the language used in

the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries but also to immerse oneself in a world that is

completely different in comparison to present times. Thus the language, canons and

rules in the past are also worth deeper consideration.

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Summary in Polish

Język Jane Austen, który możemy podziwiać w jednej z jej powieści „Duma i

uprzedzenie” znacznie różni się od tego, który używamy w dzisiejszych czasach.

Mianowicie słownictwo, gramatyka, użycie wyszukanych technik narracyjnych i styl

całkowicie różni się od dzisiejszego języka angielskiego. Kluczowa jednak jest nie

różnica leżąca miedzy słowami i konstrukcjami gramatycznymi lecz unikatowość stylu

Jane Austen, który sprawia że miliony czytelników na całym świecie wciąż sięgają po

to dzieło. Celem tejże pracy magisterskiej było znalezienie odpowiedzi, co czyni

powieści Jane Austen tak unikalnym? W czym tkwi sekret jej fenomenu? Po wnikliwej

analizie tematu odpowiedź oczywiście została znaleziona w unikalnym stylu autorki.

Niejednokrotnie użycie niektórych słów, nie tylko zaskakuje czytelnika ale rzuca

zupełnie inne światło na daną sytuację bądź osobę. Aby nie pozostawać gołosłownym,

przykładem może być opis cech charakteru Pana Collinsa. Jak wiadomo w

towarzystwie nie uchodził on za osobę poważaną czy nawet osobę którą można

traktować poważnie. Niemniej jednak Jane Austen w trakcie opisu Pana Collinsa

doglądającego swojego ogrodu i pielęgnującego roślinność w nim się znajdującą użyła

słowa szanowany, poważny aby podkreślić jego pozytywne zalety. Choć na pierwszy

rzut oka wydawało by się, że jest to wyłącznie postać z powieści z której można się

śmiać oraz że ma przypisaną raczej komiczną rolę w powieści. Okazało się jednak że

Jane Austen tak opisywała swoje postaci jak uważała za stosowne. Mianowicie Pan

Collins przez ogół był postrzegany jako człowiek niezbyt poważny i szanowany.

Autorka jednak znalazła w nim cechę tak pozytywną, że opisała to za pomocą

przymiotnika, który nie byłby mu przypisany w pierwszej kolejności. Szanowany czy

poważny mógłby być Pan Darcy czy Pan Bingley ale z całą pewnością nie Pan Collins.

Kolejnymi aspektami poruszonymi przez autorkę tej pracy magisterskiej jest kwestia

gramatyki oraz struktur zdań oraz wpływ ich użycia na całą powieść. W tej części pracy

kwestie ominięć lub całkowita rezygnacja z niektórych technik narracyjnych zostały

omówione. Niesamowicie ważne było również odkrycie, że celowe pominięcia w

znaczny sposób ułatwiły czytanie powieści. Przy analizie dialogów również możemy

zagłębić się w unikalnym stylu rozmów prowadzonych w osiemnastym i

dziewiętnastym wieku.

W kolejnej części tejże pracy zostały poruszone kwestie użycia ironii. Jest to część

pracy najbardziej interesująca dla osób, które chciałyby zagłębić się i zrozumieć humor

52

i dowcip Jane Austen. Poprzez prezentację różnorodnych dialogów oraz ich wnikliwą

analizę czytelnik tej pracy odnajdzie odpowiedź na pytanie zadane na początku tejże

rozprawy. Ironia pokazana zarówno w dialogach, jak okazuje się później, w każdej z

postaci czy to głównej czy pobocznej jest przykładem na to że Jane Austen osiągnęła

szczyt swoich umiejętności pisarskich. Idealnym przykładem może być zdanie

rozpoczynające powieść. Zaprezentowanie zupełnie przeciwstawnego pojmowania

prawd powszechnie obowiązujących ukazało olbrzymią ironię oraz dystans pisarki do

reguł panujących w czasach Austen. Mianowicie to nie mężczyźni desperacko szukali

żon lecz kobiety pozbawione praw i środków na godne życie, widziały w zamążpójściu

jedną z lepszych dróg na ułożenie sobie życia. Autorka niemniej jednak postanowiła

właśnie to ów mężczyzn zaprezentować jako istoty których jedynym interesem czy

zajęciem w życiu było odnalezienie wybranki serca.

Kolejne partie pracy poświęcone są symbolizmowi oraz innym technikom używanym

przez autorkę. W tej części pracy zostały przywołane przykładowe obiekty, które niosą

za sobą konkretne znaczenie. Przykładem może być użycie słowa biblioteka. A

dokładniej mówiąc posiadanie biblioteki, nie tylko nobilitowało, ale dla niektórych

postaci to miejsce było schronieniem. Pan Bennet traktował to miejsce jako ucieczkę

przez niezbyt mądra żoną i córkami. Te i inne zabiegi wcześniej omówione sprawiają że

„Duma i uprzedzenie” oraz inne powieści Jane Austen są nadal tak chętnie czytane. Ja

jako autorka tej pracy żarliwie zachęcam do lektury wszystkich powieści Jane Austen.

Autorki która już na dobre pozostanie jedną z ulubionych pisarek świata.

53

Bibliography

Book sources

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McMaster, Juliet. Jane Austen’s business, her world and profession. New York:

Mcmillan Press, 1996.Print.

Moler, Kenneth. Pride and Prejudice: A study in Artistic Economy. Boston: Twayne

Publishers, 1989. Print.

Mooneyham, Laura. Romance, language and education in Jane Austen’s novels.

London: Macmillan Press, 1988. Print.

Mudrick, Marvin. Jane Austen: Irony as defence and discovery. Los Angeles:

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Phillipps, Andre. Jane Austen’s English. London: Deutsch Limited, 1970. Print.

Southam, BC. Jane Austen Sense and sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park.

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„Duma i uprzedzenie – Jane Austen”. Wymarzona-książka, n.d. Web. 9 April 2016.

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Dictionaries and other online sources

“Respectable.”, “Idea.”, ”Determine.”, “Intelligence.”, “Partial.”, “Manners.”,

“Gentleness.”, “Insolence.”, “Abilities.”, “Omission.”, “Irony.”, “Symbolism.”,

“Parody.” Oxford dictionaries. n.d. Web. 27 April 2016.

“Consensus gentium.” Wikipedia. n.d. Web. 27 April 2016.